Listed Building

The only legal part of the listing under the Planning (Listing Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 is the address/name of site. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing – see 'About Listed Buildings' below for more information. The further details below the 'Address/Name of Site' are provided for information purposes only.

Address/Name of Site

NEW LANARK, WEIR, TUNNEL AND LADELB44552

Status: Designated

Documents

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Summary

Category
A
Date Added
11/06/1993
Local Authority
South Lanarkshire
Planning Authority
South Lanarkshire
Parish
Lanark
NGR
NS 88116 42077
Coordinates
288116, 642077

Description

1785 and later, repaired June 1994. Submerged stone and timber weir with later concrete repairs on River Clyde, channelling water through rock-cut tunnel at SE end of New Lanark village about 250 yards long and 12 feet in diameter under the hillside and into the lade, 22 feet wide and 6 feet deep. Segmental-arched opening with coped parapet above to the New Lanark exit.

VILLAGE LADE: rectangular in section with masonry walls; lower sections of walls rebuilt in engineering brick since 1980, copes renewed and railings to New Lanark design replaced. Sluices from weir (modern) and at Mechanics' Shop, No 3 Mill, site of No 4 Mill, and No 1 Mill, with tunnels to wheel and turbine sites.

Statement of Special Interest

The weir, tunnel and lade are one of the early group of water-control facilities linked to the pioneering New Lanark cotton mills that were the largest water-powered site in Britain for many years. They are therefore of considerable importance historically but also are a key visual component of the village and mill complex as, along with the river, they dictate the arrangement of many other buildings.

The 250 yard tunnel was cut to lead the water from the Clyde to the water wheels in each mill. This was the source of power throughout the period of operation of the mills - by the end of the 19th century water was driving a turbine to create electricity. Water wheels were removed in the 1930s.

New Lanark is an outstanding natural and cultural ensemble centred on a pioneering cotton-spinning village, surrounded by an incomparable natural and designed landscape including the most important woodland complex in Central Scotland. Built to exploit the water power offered by the Falls of Clyde, the mills were in operation from 1786 to 1968. From its conception New Lanark has aroused and capitalised upon, an international recognition born of its considerable architectural, technological and historic interest and the sublime majesty of the setting.

The mill village is made up of industrial, residential and community buildings, dating predominantly from between 1786 and the 1820s. The mill was founded by David Dale, a Glasgow merchant, in conjunction with Richard Arkwright, a trailblazing inventor of the cottonspinning industry whose patents enabled operation on a considerable scale. Dale's humane philosophy, realised from the start in the buildings of New Lanark, was expanded by Robert Owen, who took over management of the mill village in partnership from 1799. The mill buildings sit on the natural terrace to the east of the River Clyde in this deeply incised, wooded river valley.

The survival of the complex is of outstanding importance for both many of its individual components but particularly in its entirety. Elements of sophisticated early town planning are evidenced in the orchestration of the various components in the village, from the mill weir, the crucially generous circulation spaces, gardens, tailored walks and viewing points realised from the start. The mill buildings survived with a certain diversification from 1881 to 1968 when the site assumed the role of a scrap metal yard from 1970. The New Lanark Conservation Trust was founded in 1975, advancing on early work with in the residential field by the New Lanark Association Ltd formed in 1963.

Within World Heritage Site inscribed 2001.

List description updated 2010.

References

Bibliography

John R Hume, The Industrial Archaeology of New Lanark in J Butt (Ed.) Robert Owen, Prince of Cotton Spinners (1971). Survey photos, 1994, New Lanark Conservation Trust Archive. R Paxton and J Shipway: Civil Engineering Heritage of Scotland: Lowlands and Borders (2007), pp233-236.

About Listed Buildings

Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.

We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.

Listing is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for buildings of special architectural or historic interest as set out in the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997.

We list buildings which are found to be of special architectural or historic interest using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)

Listed building records provide an indication of the special architectural or historic interest of the listed building which has been identified by its statutory address. The description and additional information provided are supplementary and have no legal weight.

These records are not definitive historical accounts or a complete description of the building(s). If part of a building is not described it does not mean it is not listed. The format of the listed building record has changed over time. Earlier records may be brief and some information will not have been recorded.

The legal part of the listing is the address/name of site which is known as the statutory address. Other than the name or address of a listed building, further details are provided for information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland does not accept any liability for any loss or damage suffered as a consequence of inaccuracies in the information provided. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing. Even if a number or name is missing from a listing address it will still be listed. Listing covers both the exterior and the interior and any object or structure fixed to the building. Listing also applies to buildings or structures not physically attached but which are part of the curtilage (or land) of the listed building as long as they were erected before 1 July 1948.

While Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating listed buildings, the planning authority is responsible for determining what is covered by the listing, including what is listed through curtilage. However, for listed buildings designated or for listings amended from 1 October 2015, legal exclusions to the listing may apply.

If part of a building is not listed, it will say that it is excluded in the statutory address and in the statement of special interest in the listed building record. The statement will use the word 'excluding' and quote the relevant section of the 1997 Act. Some earlier listed building records may use the word 'excluding', but if the Act is not quoted, the record has not been revised to reflect subsequent legislation.

Listed building consent is required for changes to a listed building which affect its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest. The relevant planning authority is the point of contact for applications for listed building consent.

Find out more about listing and our other designations at www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support. You can contact us on 0131 668 8914 or at designations@hes.scot.

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Printed: 29/03/2024 11:57